Wolfsbane
by brattyteenagewerewolf
Summary: Ivan used to be level headed and kind. Feliks used to be strong. But people don't remember that, they only remember the crazed alpha and the weak omega they are now. Toris remembers though, he can't forget it. werewolf AU and 'Hair of the Dog' side story. one shot.


**A/N: because I haven't been able to get something that BeastUnleashed mentioned in hair of the dog about Poland actually having all the capabilities of being relatively high up in the pecking order. It got me thinking about why he became the omega seeing as I did have him talking back to Ivan in HOTD so it wasn't like the way I wrote him had him automatically put into the omega position. And coupled with mentions of Ivan completely losing it after becoming the alpha led me to wondering exactly what went on within the pack.**

**Apparently it was this. Altan is Mongolia (I quite liked the name and since it means gold it's fairly fitting in my opinion considering the golden horde and all).**

_And I'll survive, paranoid  
I have lost the will to change  
And I am not proud, cold blooded, fake  
I will shut the world away_

I will not!

I will not bow, I will not break  
I will shut the world away  
I will not fall, I will not fade  
I will take your breath away

And I'll survive, paranoid  
I have lost the will to change  
And I am not proud, cold blooded, fake  
I will shut the world away

Fall!

_I will not bow - Breaking Benjamin_

1820 AD

Toris frowned as he felt a finger prodding his cheek impatiently. Even with his eyes closed it didn't take much guess work to figure out who was behind it, for one thing there was only one other person with him and even had he been in a crowd only one person he knew ever did such a thing to get his attention.

"Hey Liet! Stop ignoring me and pouting like that! You're totally killing the mood…"

The Lithuanian sighed, cracking an eye open to gaze at the grinning blond beside him. Feliks was sprawled out on his stomach, his chin resting on his hand as he continued to poke the other's cheek.

"I'm listening so you can stop poking me!" Toris protested, trying to move out of reach as the Pol laughed loudly.

"Seriously, you're in such a foul mood today… like even Natalia is more cheerful!" Feliks complained, sitting up to try and push Toris' lips into a smile. "I even went so far as to suggest going on a run together and all you want to do is mope…"

Another sigh fell from the brunette's lips as he gave a small smile, Feliks positively grinned at the response. "See, much better! Seriously what the hell is wrong with you?"

"I'm just worried about Raivis that's all." The Lithuanian admitted. "Ivan was picking on him again…"

"He can look after himself Liet."

"He's only fifteen!"

"He just looks it. He's no more fifteen than I'm nineteen. If he stands up to Ivan he'll leave him alone, simple." Feliks shrugged as Toris shook his head.

"It's not that easy… he doesn't bother you so much because you do stand up to him. You can't understand what that's like since you actually have some standing within the pack… Raivis doesn't have the confidence. My attempts have always failed…" the Lithuanian explained. He knew that the pecking order within the pack was the main reason why he and Raivis got the brunt of Ivan's anger. The Latvian boy got the worst of it as the weakest pack member but that didn't stop the Russian from picking on those just above him, namely himself and occasionally Eduard. Katyusha seemed to be left alone, perhaps due to an old bond, almost like that between siblings, between her and the alpha. Natalia and Feliks though were both strong and confident enough to look after themselves.

"I really need to like kick his ass… I told him to leave you alone!" the blond grumbled. Toris just shrugged, shaking the concern off.

"Its fine… his focus is typically on Raivis since he's the least dominant. He just targets Eduard and I when we try to stop him."

"I swear he's such an ass… I really hate him! You'd tell me if he really hurt you right Liet?"

"He wasn't always so bad Feliks." Toris protested, completely bypassing the question. He had a small sad smile on his face as he remembered the past. "I've been there since the beginning so I still remember how he was before he became alpha. He used to be nice…"

"Che, I doubt it."

"No he really was, I used to like him…"

.o.)O(.o.

339 AD

Toris yelped as someone came bowling into him, the extra weight knocking him flying and pinning him to the ground as he tried to free himself from the almost back breaking grip that was supposed to be a hug. He was spluttering slightly even as the person responsible started laughing.

"Got you Toris!" Ivan smiled as he released the smaller man and let him get to his feet.

"I thought I told you not to do that…" Toris complained as he dusted himself off. His clothes were now streaked with dirt from his encounter with the ground and it wasn't even the first time it had happened.

"But we're friends! Friends hug each other da?"

"Hug yes, knock one another flying not so much…"

Ivan just laughed in response, clapping the smaller man on the back good naturedly. "Silly Toris… now come on! Altan will be angry if we take too long!" he grinned as he grabbed the Lithuanian's hand and started jogging in the direction that he knew the Mongolian man would be waiting.

Toris sighed but didn't resist. He knew that doing so would just end with him being dragged along behind the Russian and he also didn't want to give his alpha a reason to get angry. Altan could be terrifying when angered.

.o.)O(.o.

Ivan was still smiling broadly when they caught up to where Altan was waiting with Katyusha and Natalia. The two women had also been off scouting but it appeared they'd finished in far less time than the Lithuanian and the Russian had. The Mongolian looked up at their approach, his eyes stern as he finished putting his hair back into its usual braid.

"Well? Did you find anything?"

"Nyet, there's no sign of anyone! I don't think they know we're on the move." Ivan said as he finally released Toris' hand. The Lithuanian winced slightly, the grip having been a bit too hard. It wasn't quite as bad as when Natalia had broken his fingers for showing too much interest in her but it was still a bit painful.

Altan nodded, looking away to stare into the distance. "Good, we should be able to take the territory painlessly then. It'll be three against five so they won't stand a chance."

"I still don't see why we had to go all the way to Germania when we could have just gone south and challenged Yao. It would have been closer and easier to hold." Natalia said coolly in response to the man's words. She didn't flinch when he glared at her, merely holding his gaze without dropping it. Katyusha shivered though, shrinking even though the gaze wasn't fixed on her and Toris couldn't blame her.

"We didn't go south because when I left Yao all those years ago he already had Kiku, Mei and Yong Soo in his pack. If this pack has grown I wouldn't put it past him to have added to his numbers. I caught a glimpse of Aldrich's pack around a century ago and there were only three of them. He'll be tired from keeping Julius at bay as well making it a far less risky venture." Alton explained, nodding when Natalia finally dropped her gaze submissively. Her headstrong nature often gave him trouble but nothing he couldn't handle. "I've been hearing rumours that a Roman general has been causing havoc amongst the tribes and I'd stake my money on it being Julius. Aldrich won't give up his land without a fight so his pack will be easy to take down after having to fight Julius's pack."

Toris nodded, still looking slightly hesitant despite how confident the Mongolian was. Something told him that it wouldn't be as easy a fight as he was predicting and Katyusha seemed to agree if the look on her face was anything to go by but he didn't say anything. It wasn't his place to go against Altan after all. Ivan was grinning broadly though, not scared in the least.

"Let's go then!" he said confidently. "I'm sure it'll work out perfectly da?"

.o.)O(.o.

Toris knew that it had to be too good a promise to be true.

It was complete chaos, the air thick with snarls and blood stained fur. He couldn't see Katyusha or Altan and the thought terrified him. As the weakest member of the pack it was only right that everyone help protect the large breasted woman but he couldn't see her. And Altan was their leader, he was meant to be guiding them.

A white furred wolf snapped at him viciously, driving him from his thoughts as he skittered backwards. He wanted to call for help but his mind was just as chaotic as the world around him. No-one knew where the next attack would come from or how many they were facing. There were more than three that much was certain. This wasn't just Aldrich's pack, Julius's was here too.

He yelped as a slim grey wolf joined the white wolf that was hounding him, tail between his legs as his eyes darted wildly. He just wanted to get out of there; there was no way they could win this fight. They were too outnumbered.

He whimpered as he realised that, haunches tightening before he turned and ran. He caught a glimpse Natalia snarling fiercely at a large grey wolf that was preventing her from going to anyone's aid. The wolf in question was fighting and hounding her skilfully, not seeming to care about the blood staining his pelt.

Ivan was also struggling as he had an even larger pale grey wolf and another with a more reddish brown pelt working together against him. A large cut ran down the grey's fore limb but it was nothing compared to the red that stained Ivan's throat and neck. It was disconcerting to see the Russian, easily one of the largest wolves there, struggling to hold his own.

He shivered though, fighting the urge to howl when he finally caught a glimpse of Altan. The black wolf was on the ground as a dark furred wolf, just as large as Ivan, and a paler wolf continued to hound him. He wasn't moving and when Toris focused he could hear nothing but silence from him.

Natalia seemed to have noticed as well as her ears went back as she gave a final snap in her opponent's direction and ran. Katyusha was begging the rest of them to back down and Toris didn't need telling twice as he bolted. He paused though when he realised that Ivan wasn't following.

The wolf was still trying to fight, seeming to refuse to believe that his alpha was gone. He didn't seem to care that the rest of the wolves were beginning to turn their attention on him, giving up the chase of the fleeing wolves in favour of targeting him. Toris snarled at the sight, pushing aside his fear as he raced to the larger wolf's aid.

_Ivan get out of here!_

_Nyet! Not without him! _Ivan protested, his pale fur soaked with blood from his wounds. He seemed adamant about trying to save Altan despite the futility of it.

Toris growled, shoving him with his shoulder even as he snapped in the direction of the other wolves. _There's nothing we can do. Now go!_

Ivan still seemed hesitant even as he gave in and ran. His violet eyes went once more to Altan's still form as he whined. It shouldn't have ended like that.

.o.)O(.o.

"We should go back… we have to save him…" Ivan mumbled, not even flinching as Katyusha examined the deep wounds around his throat.

"He's dead Ivan. There's nothing we can do…" Toris sighed. "We'll just have to reorganise ourselves and let our wounds heal..." He offered. Not a single one of them was unscathed and he doubted that any one of them would walk away without scars. Even Katyusha who'd been the first to bolt had several deep scratches down her back.

"But we're a family… we're friends… we're meant to protect each other. If friendship doesn't keep us together then what will?"

No-one answered that, all looking away guiltily.

.o.)O(.o.

1820 AD

"I don't think he ever truly forgave us for abandoning Altan like that." Toris shrugged. "He somehow got it into his head that if love doesn't keep a family together then fear will. Katyusha somehow managed to avoid the treatment, possibly because of Natalia's influence or even because she took it upon herself to look after Ivan but myself and later Eduard and Raivis… he seems to want to make sure that we never leave him."

Feliks rolled his eyes slightly. "I still think he's an ass… he like needs someone to show him that he can't just totally ignore peoples wishes."

"But what can we do? Raivis won't stand up to him."

"Then you need an omega who will duh!" Feliks grinned. Toris blinked at him for several moments before scratching his head sheepishly.

"Uh, Feliks we can't just go around biting people and hope we get a confident omega… we'll have a population problem…"

"Not like that silly! When we get back to the others I want you to challenge me! It'll be like a life-size chess game!"

"The last time you did that you kicked my ass in front of everyone… and you cheat at chess."

"I promise I won't this time Liet!"

"But why?"

"Because you're using the Poland rule!"

"I-I am?"

"Yep, totally! We're going to take an awful situation and change the rules to suit us!" Feliks grinned.

"So let me get this straight… you are going to purposely lose to me, knowing that Ivan will see that as you being taken down a peg."

"Yep!"

"And then you are going to lose to Eduard, Katyusha and Raivis and thus become the omega…"

"Yep, totes cool plan right?"

"But how are you going to do this?"

"Wow you're slow today Liet… it's simple. You're going to tell Eduard and Raivis to challenge me and we all know that Natalia has a few issues with Katyusha being so low down on the pecking order so she will try to convince her to take me on as well! I'll be the omega in a week!"

Toris sighed, shaking his head wearily as he stared at his mate. "You're crazy…"

"You know it's a good plan so shut up! Beside you don't put out when you're stressed so I'm doing this for myself as well."

"I'll be stressed about you getting hurt now!" the Lithuanian blushed. He was sort of hoping that a hole would open up and swallow him as Feliks so blatantly commented on their sex life.

"Relax Liet, I'll be totally fine! Poland rule remember?" Feliks laughed. "Ivan can't hurt me since I'll be playing a completely different game then he is!"

Toris couldn't help but give a small smile at his words. The Pol was so confident, so self-sure… He was acting like it was all just some big game.

And to him it was. Feliks had never been one to be serious and somehow he'd always managed to do alright with his games. He'd somehow win or avoid serious injury by changing the rules of the game.

He'd be alright.

**A/N2: So pretty much Ivan used to be a good guy up until Altan decided to try and win territory from Aldrich since he believed they would have the advantage (no technology unfortunately, he was running from rumours and out of date information) unfortunately Aldrich and Julius had already teamed up and Ludwig had been added to the pack as well so instead of a five against three battle it was a five against seven. Altan refused to back down and was killed so Ivan became the new alpha.**

**He believed that if you cared about someone you should do everything to protect them so the idea of abandoning their alpha like that made him question his beliefs which really messed with his head. So he resorted to fear tactics since if someone was terrified of you they would be too scared to abandon you. Natalia and Katyusha cared for him when he was still injured and Natalia (and thus Katyusha by default) refused to leave him alone so they managed to avoid the worst of it. Feliks could look after himself so he was also spared. Raivis, Eduard and Toris were not so lucky.**

**Thus Feliks eventually grew so sick of Toris getting stressed from Ivan picking on the trio that he sacrificed his position within the pack and became the omega. Over time people have forgotten that he used to be strong and coupled with his quirks they assume he's weak. Him being the omega has calmed Ivan down a little bit since he can and does stand up to him but it'll be a long time before Ivan gets over his fear of being abandoned like Altan was.**


End file.
